


Shadow Puppets

by Anonymous



Series: JatP Age Regression [5]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Astraphobia, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Platonic Cuddling, Storms, Thunder and Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:21:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28523883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Thunder sounded for the third time, loud and attention-demanding, and lightning flashed again. The lights flickered a final time before shutting off entirely, plunging them all into darkness. A distressed whine was heard from the loft's general direction.Oh no.-Or, Luke's afraid of thunder, and Bobby finds a creative distraction.
Relationships: Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters
Series: JatP Age Regression [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051997
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50
Collections: Anonymous





	Shadow Puppets

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 2021 everyone! Hope this year's not as bad as the last one! 
> 
> Warnings:  
> \- I mention Reggie, Alex and Luke's parents, like, once and I don't paint them as being very sympathetic (I do like Mitch and Emily I swear-)  
> \- Also, Bobby has a moment of self-deprecation (why do I keep hinting at issues for Bobby even though I'll never address them?)  
> \- if you're still here, clearly you know this is age regression, it's tagged above and stuff. 
> 
> Other than that, nothing that I'm aware of. If there is something I've missed, let me know.

"Yeah, there is no way I'm letting any of you go home in _that_ ," Bobby huffed, forcing the garage doors shut. 

"Don't be dramatic, Bobby, it's probably not that ba-" the words died on Reggie's lips as a huge clap of thunder sounded, almost shaking the garage with its ferocity. "Yeah, ok, maybe you're right."  
  
Bobby smirked, before pushing one of their amps in front of the double doors, keeping them shut. The wind pounded against them, and they creaked dangerously. Bobby knew it wasn't very responsible of him to put something electrical in such close proximity to water, but he was _plenty_ responsible the rest of the time, he had to balance it out! Also, there was no way he was sacrificing the couch to this savage of a storm.  
  
Alex climbed down the loft ladder, yawning.  
"Luke's asleep- what're you doing?"  
  
Bobby shrugged.  
"The doors were gonna burst open if I didn't barricade them shut."  
  
"And you decided to do that with something _electrical_?"   
  
"It's unplugged!"  
  
Alex still didn't look too convinced.  
"That doesn't mean the rain won't damage the circuitry."  
  
"Nerd."  
  
"Idiot."  
  
Reggie nodded in agreement with Alex.  
"Yeah, Bobby, maybe that's not the best idea."  
  
"Yeah, like you can say anything Mr. I-tried-to-fix-my-amp-in-the-rain," Bobby scoffed.  
  
Reggie, wisely, didn't respond to that.  
  
Alex shook his head.  
"Bad decisions aside, Luke is napping in the loft today. You know how he gets with storms. Please don't wake him up."   
  
Bobby nodded gravely. There was no way they were waking Luke up during this storm. Luke was already wary around storms, didn't like them one bit and made that very clear to the others every chance he got. But when he felt smaller - as they now referred to it - storms were a nightmare for both Luke and the others.  
  
For starters, if Luke woke up during a storm, there was no way he was getting to sleep again. He would stay awake almost obsessively, refusing to even shut his eyes. Then he would cry at every clap of thunder, whimper at every flash of lightning, and even the sound of rain made him uneasy. It broke their hearts.  
  
That was why, as soon as Alex had seen an extreme weather warning on the forecast, he'd kept Luke inside as much as possible, offering to practise new songs with him when he was big, and playing more active games with him when he was small, with the hopes of sapping away some of his - seemingly endless - energy. To top that all off, he allowed Luke to stay up a little past his normal nap time, under the guise of "you've been a good boy today so why not?". His plan was working like magic so far. Luke hadn't stirred once.  
  
Bobby wasn't sure what any of them did to deserve a friend like Alex.  
  
Thunder clapped again and Reggie jumped, grabbing onto Bobby's arm reflexively. The guitarist laughed, ruffling his hair teasingly.  
  
"You _scared_ , Reg?"  
  
Reggie blushed, letting go of Bobby's arm.  
"N-no, I'm _not_. Just startled me, is all," he mumbled, pointedly staring at the floor.  
  
Lightning flashed, and the garage lights flickered. Bobby ran up the ladder to the loft, being careful not to disrupt Luke. He rummaged as quietly as he could through a drawer, making a noise of triumph as he pulled out a flashlight. He really hoped he wouldn't need it, but there was no harm in being safe, right?  
  
Thunder clapped, and Luke stirred, whining. Bobby almost threw himself at the guitarist, hastily tucking the blankets further around him and securing the pacifier in his mouth. He breathed a sigh of relief when Luke's facial features smoothed again, and he settled. Bobby leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.  
  
Thunder clapped, louder this time, and the lights flickered again. And again.  
  
Bobby bit his lip, holding his breath. He ran back down the ladder to his friends, brandishing the flashlight.  
  
"He's still asleep," he said, before Alex could ask. The drummer grinned, looking calm.  
  
Well, calm for Alex's standards, which was only slightly less anxious than usual.  
  
Thunder sounded for the third time, loud and attention-demanding, and lightning flashed again. The lights flickered a final time before shutting off entirely, plunging them all into darkness. A distressed whine was heard from the loft's general direction.  
  
Oh no.  
  
Reggie let out an impressive string of curse words that Bobby would probably slap him for, were he not feeling exactly the same way. He switched on the flashlight, sending a beam of light soaring across the room. He pointed it at the ladder, allowing Alex and Reggie to walk in front of him as they all headed towards it.  
  
Luke sitting on his knees, blankets pooled around his waist. He watched them all climb up with watery eyes. Alex didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug.  
  
"What's the matter, baby?" He asked, though they all knew the answer.  
  
Luke sniffed, turning his face into Alex's hoodie and gripping fistfuls of it in his hands.  
"Don' like the storm. 'S scary." He mumbled. 

Reggie moves next, wrapping his arms around both Luke and Alex, taking his place by Alex's side.  
  
They looked like the perfect picture of a family. Reggie, whose parents didn't care, Alex, whose parents didn't know him at all, and little Luke, whose parents didn't support his dream. Together, they made their own family. And where did Bobby fit, with his supportive parents and perfect life?  
  
Nowhere.  
  
Before he could sink too far into his thoughts, Alex shifted, pulling Luke fully into his lap and unravelling Reggie's arms from around him, making the bassist pout. He shuffled back, leaving just enough space for another. For Bobby.  
  
Trying not to allow tears to form in his eyes, Bobby slotted himself into his designated space. He ruffled Luke's hair, who'd been strangely silent this whole time.  
  
The storm gave a low rumble, startling them all. Luke whimpered, burying his face further into Alex's shoulder. The drummer rubbed his back, whispering soothing words in his ear. Reggie stood up, eyes sweeping the room as if he was looking for something.  
  
"Where are your headphones, kiddo?" He asked Luke.  
  
Ah. Maybe Reggie did have _some_ good ideas.  
  
Luke shook his head lightly, sniffling.

"Left them a' home."  
  
Reggie grimaced, making his way back to their almost-kinda-cuddle-pile. The storm raged on outside, showing no signs of letting up. Bobby fiddled with the flashlight in his hands.  
  
Wait. Flashlight...  
  
He adjusted, sitting on his knees and pointing the lit flashlight at the empty wall opposite them all. Alex looked at him, perplexed.  
  
"Bobby, what are you doing?"  
  
Ignoring Alex, he held his hands in front of the bean of light, concentrating as he twisted his fingers into a specific shape.  
  
"Luke, look at this, buddy!"  
  
Very slowly, Luke lifted his head from Alex's hoodie, watching Bobby curiously. His face lit up when he glanced at the shadow being cast on the wall.  
  
"Bunny!" He squealed.  
  
Bobby laughed, wiggling his fingers so that it looked like the bunny's ears were twitching. Reggie grinned, slapping Bobby's hands out of the way so he could try, earning an affronted look from the rhythm guitarist. He held his crossed hands up, fingers close together and the thumbs crossed as well, forming a butterfly. He waved his hands gently, making the butterfly's wings flutter in the shadow. Luke giggled, thumb slipping into his mouth. Alex was quick to pull it out and replace it with his pacifier. He then looked at Bobby.  
  
"Can you do a flamingo?"  
  
Bobby gave him a strange look, but held his hand up in the desired shape nonetheless. Alex began to speak in a soft voice. 

"Once, there lived a little flamingo..."  
  
Bobby shifted his hands to resemble a crocodile, urging Alex on when he hesitated.  
  
"Whose best friend was a baby crocodile named Reggie-" actual-Reggie raised an eyebrow at that, and Alex merely shrugged.  
  
They continued like that, whenever an animal they could make as a shadow puppet popped up in Alex's story, Bobby and Reggie created it using their hands, then animated it in a way appropriate to the story.  
  
Luke was enthralled with it all, eyes not leaving the wall once as he followed along with Alex's story about an orange flamingo and his best bud the crocodile Reggie. Bobby lost track of it somewhere between orange-flamingo-who-didn't-have-a-name getting a sun tan, and him and Reggie the crocodile going grocery shopping together, but he was glad that Luke was happy.  
  
At some point, Luke's eyes began to droop, and he slumped into Alex. The drummer wrapped his arms securely around Luke's waist, pulling him further onto his lap. He motioned for Reggie to grab a blanket from the abandoned pile behind him. The bassist draped it over Luke, tucking it tightly around him. The guitarist squirmed at the feeling, fighting to stay awake when he realised what was going on.  
  
"No... w'nna know wha' happens..." he mumbled into Alex's shoulder.  
  
Bobby chuckled, ruffling his hair.  
"Don't worry about it, munchkin. We can finish it tomorrow evening." 

They all held their breath, waiting for the inevitable tantrum.  
  
Luckily, Luke's tiredness really seemed to catch up to him, so the guitarist just nodded uncertainly, regarding Bobby through half-lidded eyes. He held up his pinky finger to the rhythm guitarist.  
  
"You promise?"  
  
Bobby nodded, putting on the best serious face he could muster. Luke took his pinky promises seriously, big or little. He locked pinky fingers with Luke, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.  
  
"I promise." 

And if Bobby noticed the storm had stopped halfway through the story, well, then that was his secret to keep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Comments are always appreciated, let me know what you think!


End file.
